Denis Shaw

Who was Denis Shaw?

Denis Shaw was a British character actor specialising in slimy villains. Born in Dulwich, he was a rotund man, with dark, wavy hair and slanty eyes. This appearance meant he would often be found troubling countless heroes of the 1950s and 1960s on film and television, most memorably as the German guard Priem in The Colditz Story.

Alternatively, he could also be found propping up the tavern bar in a number of British horror films. These include Blood of the Vampire, Jack the Ripper, The Man Who Could Cheat Death, The Mummy, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, The Curse of the Werewolf and The Day of the Triffids.

1959 saw a change of pace when he took the leading role of judo-throwing Interpol detective Caesar Smith in Great Van Robbery. In the film he travels to Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Paris, tracking the robbers of a Royal Mint van.

His many television credits include, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Avengers, Danger Man, Dixon of Dock Green, The Prisoner, Sherlock Holmes and Z-Cars.

He died in London of a heart attack at the age of 49.

A familiar face around the bars of Soho in London, he is mentioned in Keith Waterhouse's play Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell.